Backyard History

Is it a ghost haunting the woods or something else?

A car load of four young people -two guys and two girls- were driving home from a dance on a dark and stormy Halloween night in 1930. They were on a dark road going through the woods between the small towns of Richibucto and Rexton on New Brunswick’s East Coast, when they had a bizarre close encounter with a ghost…

https://backyardhistory.ca/f/the-spectre-of-rexton-bootleggers-dressed-as-ghosts

One province defeats a pandemic and in the process influences all of North America, leading to improvements in healthcare all over Canada and the United States as they copy the latest developments in ... New Brunswick.

https://backyardhistory.ca/articles/f/pandemic-1918-how-one-doctor-saved-new-brunswick

Canada decides which side to drive on.

For much of its history half of Canada drove on the opposite side of the road from the other half. Ontario and Quebec drove on the right, while British Columbia and The Maritimes drove on the left. When New Brunswick changed sides of the road the year became wryly known as “The Year of Free Beef.”

https://backyardhistory.ca/articles/f/switching-from-driving-on-the-left-to-driving-on-the-right

"Oh my god we're saved by a girl," the sailor gasped before passing out.

In 1882 a teenager was celebrated for risking her life heroically rescuing shipwrecked sailors in a cold Autumn storm.

https://backyardhistory.ca/popular/f/oh-my-god-were-saved-by-a-girl-teenager-saves-sailors-at-sea

After a life of piracy, a man retreats to the woods to escape justice and hide his treasure.

About an hour southwest of Fredericton is Charlie Lake, named after a mysterious hermit who lived there long ago, alone with his little dog. It was said the hermit was a pirate, hiding from the law, who had buried a great treasure by the lake which still bears his name..

https://backyardhistory.ca/articles/f/the-pirate-of-charlie-lake

The host enters an abandoned spaceport in the Arctic.

An intricate maze of metal corridors connect the massive buildings far up in Canada's Arctic. It was once the centre of one of the world's leading space research facility. Later it became the center of an international race between Canada and the United States to build the world's first commercial spaceport. The winner would dominate the launch of the race of satellites in the then-upcoming 21st century.

In this very special episode of the Backyard History Podcast, host Andrew MacLean is stranded by airplane engine problems in Churchill Manitoba, encountering polar bears, beluga whales, the northern lights, and discovering the remains of the massive abandoned spaceport.

When he notices an open hatch on the roof, he climbs down a ladder and enters into the murky darkness below...

backyardhistory.ca

One woman's battle against lawmakers led to wins women's rights.

One largely forgotten New Brunswick woman led --and won-- not one but two important battles for women's rights in two separate provinces -one on each side of the country; first in New Brunswick and later in British Columbia.

https://backyardhistory.ca/articles/f/new-brunswick-woman-wins-fights-for-rights-in-nb-and-bc

A 1961 nuclear attack drill goes awry. 

Air raid sirens rang out from coast to coast, and an eerie voice announced that Canada was under attack: 14 nuclear missiles were inbound. The sombre voice then went on to tell startled citizens that this was the beginning of a country-wide drill, and that for the next 24 hours Canada would be behaving as if it had just been the subject of a massive nuclear strike. 

https://backyardhistory.ca/articles/f/dont-forget-to-tell-the-public-about-the-mock-nuclear-attack

A large stone with a face carved into it has people puzzled about who made it.

In 1863 a recent Scottish immigrant was wandering through the stark and desolate area above Lake Utopia looking for rocks to build a fireplace when he made an astonishing discovery. When he wiped a thick layer of moss off a large flat stone, he discovered that carved upon it was an intricately detailed human face. Speculation that it was an ancient Egyptian artifact quickly spread..

https://backyardhistory.ca/f/the-mysterious-lake-utopia-medallion

Amelia Earhart visits Newfoundland and The Maritimes on the way to make history.

Amelia Earhart kept her plans to become the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic a secret. But when she arrived in Saint John to refuel and spend the night, the secret was out and Saint Johners were in a wild frenzy to see the famous pilot about to make history…

https://backyardhistory.ca/f/when-amelia-earhart-came-to-the